Koenig & Bauer AG, Würzburg held its 100th Annual General Meeting at the Vogel Convention Center (VCC) in Würzburg. Under the motto “ChanGe and ChanCe”, the meeting marked a significant generational change in the Executive Board and a consistent focus on go-to-market strategies and profitability.

A key highlight of the Annual General Meeting was the official handover of leadership at the top of the Executive Board: Dr. Stephen Kimmich succeeds Dr. Andreas Pleßke as CEO. Dr. Pleßke will assume special responsibilities within the group until his scheduled retirement on Dec. 31, 2025.

Professor Dr.-Ing Raimund Klinkner, chairman of the Supervisory Board, explained the company’s strategic and organisational realignment. He congratulated Dr. Kimmich on taking over as chairman of the Executive Board: “Today’s handover marks the beginning of a new era for Koenig & Bauer – a special moment for our company.”

He thanked Dr. Pleßke, who, with prudence and foresight, enabled a smooth handover, adding: “It is impressive how seamlessly this transition has been achieved without our ship losing momentum – a testament to your joint leadership strength in challenging times.”

At the same time, he thanked Michael Ulverich, Christoph Müller, and Ralf Sammeck for their long-standing dedication and valuable contributions, and welcomed Dr. Alexander Blum as the new CFO from July 1, 2025, adding: “With him, Koenig & Bauer gains a distinguished leader for the next stage of our transformation.”

In his speech, Dr. Pleßke, looked back on a challenging financial year in 2024. He stated: “The world has become more hostile to free trade and more unpredictable, which brings new challenges given an export ratio of around 87 percent.”

Despite these circumstances, important successes were achieved with the ‘Spotlight’ focus programme and the ‘Exceeding Print’ corporate strategy, thus sustainably strengthening the basis for profitable growth.

Furthermore, Dr. Pleßke highlighted the group’s strategic realignment, which is now even closer to the market and customers with two segments. He also underlined the company’s role with the words: “Koenig & Bauer is not just an established machine builder and metal processor – it’s also a European company in the world of high-tech printing presses and digital applications with start-up qualities.” The shareholders elected Karoline Kalb to the committee as the successor to Professor Dr.-Ing Gisela Lanza. Professor Lanza will leave the committee on June 4, 2025 and was not available for re-election.